It is not a parable, it is simply a fact. Look directly into it. There isno need to search for any meaning. It is like a rose flower — asimple statement. If you start looking for meaning you will missthe meaning of it. The meaning is there, obvious; there is no need tosearch for it. The moment you start searching for meaning aboutsuch simple facts, you weave philosophies, you create metaphysics.

And then you go on and on, and you move far away from the fact.It is a simple statement. The Zen master said, ‘I am sitting herealone with myself.’ This is the greatest miracle.

To be alone is thegreatest achievement. One always feels a need for the other. Thereis a tremendous need for the other because something is lackingwithin ourselves. We have holes in our being; we stuff those holeswith the presence of the other. The other somehow makes usAloneness is thepresence ofoneself. Alonenessis very positive.

Itis a presence,overflowingpresence. You areso full of presencethat you can fill thewhole universewith your presenceand there is noneed for anybodySomebody asked a Zen master, ‘What is the greatest miracle in theworld?’ The master replied, ‘I am sitting here alone with me. ‘Whatis the meaning of this parable?56 OSHO WORLDcomplete, otherwise we areincomplete.

Without the other we don’tknow who we are, we lose ouridentity. The other becomes amirror and we can see our faces init. Without the other we aresuddenly thrown to ourselves.

Great discomfort, inconveniencearises, because we don’t know whowe are. When we are alone we arein very strange company, veryembarrassing company. We don’tknow with whom we are.With the other, things are clear,defined. We know the name, weknow the form, we know the manor the woman — Hindu, Christian,Indian, American — there are someways to define the other. How todefine yourself?Deep down there is an abyss…

undefinable. There is an abyss…

emptiness. You start merging intothat. It creates fear. You becomefrightened. You want to rushtowards the other. The other helpsyou to hang out, the other helpsyou to remain out.

When there isnobody you are simply left withyour emptiness.Nobody wants to be alone. Thegreatest fear in the world is to beleft alone. People do a thousandand one things just not to be leftalone. You imitate your neighboursso you are just like them and youare not left alone. You lose yourindividuality, you lose youruniqueness, you just becomeimitators, because if you are notimitators, you will be left alone.

You become part of the crowd,you become part of a church, youbecome part of an organisation.Somehow you want to merge with acrowd where you can feel at ease,that you are not alone, there areso many people like you — somany Muslims like you, so manyHindus like you, so manyChristians, millions of them… youare not alone.

To be alone is really the greatestmiracle. That means now you don’tbelong to any church, you don’tbelong to any organisation, youdon’t belong to any theology, youdon’t belong to any ideology –socialist, communist, fascist,Hindu, Christian, Jain, Buddhist –you don’t belong, you simply are.And you have learnt how to loveyour indefinable, ineffable reality.You have come to know how to bewith yourself.